Dentist Cosmetics

What Are Dental Discount Cards And How Do You Know If You Qualify?

There are three ways to save money on dental care. In theory, there are many more ways but only three are the most effective and surefire. You can opt for dental insurance and save money on dental appointments, diagnoses and treatments. You can sign up for medical or clinical trials, visit dental schools or free dental care sessions that are hosted from time to time. The third option is to have dental discount cards.

What Are Dental Discount Plans?

Unlike dental insurance, discount dental plans are more affordable and there are many more options. The number of dental insurance providers is limited whereas there are many companies offering dental discount cards. Dental discount cards are like a membership which allows you to get substantial discounts on your dental care, diagnoses and treatments.

Do You Qualify For Dental Discount Cards?

There are two types of dental discount cards. There are government sponsored or run programs, which are mostly known as dental plans rather than dental discount cards and there are private companies including insurance providers offering such cards. You can opt for federal programs, state or local government programs but most of these programs are aimed at low income households or individuals. There are some programs aimed at children. You can check out the programs, make note of the income threshold and apply if you fall in that ambit. With private dental discount cards, almost anyone can qualify.

Dental discount card dental plans offered by insurance providers or private companies are specifically categorized according to location, network and choice of treatment. A card that is applicable in Texas, Arizona and Florida may not be accepted in Illinois or New York. You need to choose a card that is meant for the state you live in. Citizenship is almost always a criterion other than cases where the cards are for kids, in which case the kids have to be a citizen, regardless of the parents’ citizenship status. Some cards will be applicable for a select set of treatments. You need to check if you need those treatments and accordingly apply for the relevant cards.

Other than location and choice of dental networks as that would determine if you would get to use the discount, there isn’t any other qualifying criterion. Some dental discount cards may make income a criterion but that is not very common.